Deformable tie clip for roofing



May 23, 1967 R. c. SCHROTER ETAL. 2

DEFORMABLE TI E CLIP FOR ROOFING Filed July 20, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l In. FIG. 5 INVE NTORS RICHARD -c. SCHROTER ROBERTJJN. PAULSON n ATTORNEY V y 1967 R. c. SCHROTER ETAL 3,320,709

DEFORMABLE TIE CLIP FOR ROOFING Filed July 20, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

INVENTORS RICHARD C. SCHROTER ROBERT J. W PAULSON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,320,709 DEFQRMABLE TIE CLIP FOR ROOFING Richard C. Schroter, Orinda, and Robert J. W. Paulson,

Sacramento, Calif; said Schroter assignor to Kaiser Aluminum 8: Chemical Corporation, Oakland, Calif.,

a corporation of Delaware Filed July 20, 1964, Ser. No. 383,615 3 Claims. (Cl. 52478) This invention relates to sheet metal roofing and to the application of such roofing to building structures. It is particularly concerned with the application of relatively long sheet metal roofing panels of the kind that extend parallel to the lower edge of the roof, with the lower margin of each panel overlapping, and interlocked with, the upper margin of the panel or panels of the next lower course, or with a starter strip.

For the purpose of fire prevention, building codes frequently prohibit the application of the roofing to to a deck of wooden sheathing, and sometimes even forbid the employment of wooden rafters, so that an all-metal deck is provided. In these circumstances, the use of nails, screws or other driven fasteners would be awkward, time consuming and expensive.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide novel means for making the panels fast with previously applied purlins, along the upper margins of the panels, by novel and inexpensive tie clips which can be quickly and conveniently applied and which obviate the need for driven fasteners.

It is a further object to provide a panel attaching arrangement which does not involve the use of driven fasteners, and by which the panel may first have its lower margin interlocked with the upper margin of a preceding panel or starter strip at a first purlin, and then have its upper margin fixedly bound to a second purlin, with capacity for receiving and interlocking, in a water-tight manner, with the lower margin of the next overlying panel.

It is a still further object to provide a panel attaching arrangement in acocrdance with which the purlins may all be first applied, and all the roof panels may thereafter be successively applied in such a fashion so as to be continuously supported at their horizontal margins and firmly bound in their assigned positions.

The utility of the invention is not limited to situations where wooden structures are considered hazardous. The invention may be practiced with advantage in all situations in which roofing panels of the kind referred to may be employed.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing forming part of this specification,

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view in sectional, side elevation of a roof structure in which the novel arrangement of the invention has been practised and the novel structure of the invention is embodied;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a partly completed roof structure being the same as that shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary detailed View similar to FIGURE 1, but on a substantially larger scale than FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view in side elevation of a preferred form of purlin as employed in FIGURES 1-3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view in sectional elevation showing particularly a starter strip and associated structure;

FIGURE 6 is a view in perspective of the tie clip employed, in the form in which it is furnished to the workmen, the final or bent form of the clip being also shown in broken lines; and

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FIGURE 7 is a View similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the employment of a modified form of purlin.

In the illustrative form of the invention disclosed in FIGURES 1-5, a formed sheet deck or sheathing, 10 having upstanding hollow ribs 12 in lieu of rafters is provided. The deck 10 is preferably made of metal such as aluminum or aluminum alloy. Purlins 14, desirably also of thin sheet or extruded metal such as aluminum or aluminum alloy, are secured upon the ribs 12 to extend crosswise of the ribs, being desirably attached to the ribs 12 after the deck 10 is put into place. The attachment of the purlins 14 to the ribs 12 may be advantageously effected by any suitable means such as screws or rivets or interlocking tabs, not shown.

The purlins 14 extend parallel to the lower horizontal edge of the roof, and are disposed at predetermined uniform distances from one another, as will be more fully explained. Each purlin 14, as best seen in FIGURE 4, has a flat body portion 16, a short downturned flange 18 at the left end of the body, an upstanding flange 20 at the right end of the base, and optionally, a marginal flange 22 which extends toward the left from the upper extremity of the flange 20. It is to be understood that the purlin 14 as illustrated in FIGURE 4 is for a left downward slope of the roof.

The lowermost purlin 14, as seen in FIGURE 1, may form or carry a starter strip 24 which may be secured by clips or other suitable fasteners, such screws or rivets. The starter strip includes a body portion 26 and a flange 28 at the left extremity of the body best shown in FIG- ure 5. The flange 28 may be notched at predetermined intervals to accommodate the ribs 12 of the deck 10.

A hook 30 of the starter strip 24 is designed to interlock with a downturned and inturned hook 32 (turned in to face toward the longitudinal medial line of the panel), which is .provided at the underside of the panel 34, shown in the lefthand or lowermost course of panels. Each panel 34 is desirably provided at varied longitudinal spaces with transverse grooves 36 (FIGURE 2) which are intended to give the panel the appearance of a row of narrow, random width shingles. The bases of the grooved portions are supported near their upper ends on the base portion of the next purlin 14. In order to avoid the noise or possible corrosion from direct metal-to-metal contact of the roof panel 34 with the purlin 14, a strip 38 of resilient material such as roofing felt may be interposed between them. The upper margin of the panel 34 is drawn upward (toward the right) all the way into the channel of the purlin 14 which is formed by the flanges 20 and 22. The upper margin of the panel 34 is formed with an upturned, inwardly facing, unbroken hook 40, through which it is interlocked with the hook 32 at the underside of the left-hand margin of the next overlying panel.

Before the next overlying panel can be put into place, however, it is necessary that in some way a blind attachment be provided between the upper or right-hand margin of the first panel 34 and the associated purlin. That this is brought about without resort to driven fasteners is the primary feature of the invention. A clip 42, desirably of stiff sheet metal, but sufliciently deformable to admit of permanent deformation either manually or by simple manual tools, is inserted beneath the upper wall of the hook 40, is drawn snugly over the upper flange 22 of the purlin, is thence drawn down along the outer face of the purlin flange 20, and is finally folded sharply under the base 16 of the purlin 14. All bends are made sharp.

The hook is preferably composed of the aluminum alloy described as 3003 half-hard, and is .032 inch thick. Such a clip can be manually bent to substantially the shape illustrated in FIG. 3, although sharper bends may be obtained through the use of tools, such as pliers. If

greater strength and stability are desired the thickness of the clip may be increased and manual tools may be used for all bending. The composition of the clip may also be varied as long as the clip is of a composition appropriate for direct contact with aluminum roofing (or a suita'ble insulating coating is provided) and continues to provide the desired characteristics of strength and deformability. It is a point of convenience and of some importance that the clip 42 can be fully applied without obstructing the entrance or mouth of the hook 40 at the upper margin of the panel 34.

After the clips 42 have been fully applied, the hook 32 of the overlying panel can be inserted without difliculty into the hook 40 of the underlying panel. The lower wall of hook 32 normally extends beneath the upper wall of hook 40, which has been tied down by the clip 42, but

portions of both hooks extend deeply under the purlin flange 22 so that very secure protection is afforded against the tearing off of panels in winds of gale or hurricane velocities. The roofing is carried through to completion by the successive application of panels in the manner described.

In many areas the purlin flange 22 is superfluous, because winds of high enough velocity to require its presence are never encountered. The tied down hook 40 serves adequately as a hold down for the hook 32. In many instances, also, wooden rafters may be employed'as first supports for the purlins. Accordingly, a structure is shown in FIGURE 7 in which the metal'sheathing 10 is replaced by woodenrafters 110a and the purlin flanges or ribs 12 are omitted. Since these are the only respects in which the structure of FIGURE 7 differs from that of FIGURES 16, corresponding reference characters have been applied to corresponding parts in FIGURE 7, with the subscript :1 added in each instance, and no detailed description of the assembly of FIGURE 7 will the given.

The method here employed of anchoring the panels with stitf tie clips is quieter, less laborious, more economical, and generally more satisfactory than the usual anch-oring of panels by driven fasteners.

Having now described the invention; what is claimed is:

1. A roof structure and the like comprising the combination with a roof supporting structure of a series of sheet metal panels adapted to extend parallel to the roof edge and each formed with a downturned, inwardly facing hook of sinuous configuration along its lower margin and an upturned, inwardly facing hook of sinous configuration along its upper margin, interlocked with said first hook of an adjacent panel through which hooks the adjacent panels are interlocked with one another, a series of longitudina'lly extending metallic purlins fixed at panel width intervals to the supporting structure, each purlin having a base portion which directly sup-ports the upper margin of one of said panels, and an upstanding flange at its upper extremity in proximity to the upper extremity of the panel whose upper margin it supports, and stiff but permanently deformable sheet metal clips tying the upper margin of each panel to the purlin upon which it is supported while leaving the mouth of the panel hook at such margin substantially unobstructed, the clips constituting the sole mean of positive attachment between the purlin and the panel margin, each clip being partially sandwiched between the interlocked hooks of the panels and extending from within the hook disposed at the upper margin of the supported panel, around the upper extremity of the panel defined by the upper side of such hook, thence down around the outer face of the flange of the supporting purlin and finally underneath said purlin for a substantial distance, the clip, though deformable, being strong enough to maintain the shape and the position described.

2. A roof structure and the like comprising the combination with a ribbed metallic roof deck of a series of long sheet metal panels adapted to extend parallel to the roof edge and each formed with a downturned, inwardly facing hook of sinuous configuration along its lower margin and an upturned, inwardly facing hook of sinuous configuration along its upper margin, interlocked with said first hook of an adjacent panel through which hooks the adjacent panels are interlocked with one another, a series of fixed, longitudinally extending metallic purlins secured at panel width intervals, on the roof deck, each purlin having a base portion which directly supports the upper margin of one of said panels, and an upstanding flange at its upper extremity and a marginal flange inturned from said upstanding flange, the upstanding flange being located in proximity to the upper extremity of the lpanel whose upper margin it supports, and stiff but permanently bendable sheet metalclips tying the upper margin of the panel to the purlin upon which its upper margin is supported while leaving the mouth of the hook at such margin substantially unobstructed, the clips constituting the sole means of positive attachment between the purlin and the panel margin, each clip being partially sandwiched between the interlocked hooks :of the panels and extending from within the hook disposed at the upper margin of the supporting panel, around the upper extremity of the panel defined by the upper side of such hook thence around the upper side of the inturned purlin flange, thence down along the outer face of the upstanding flange of such purlin, and finally underneath the same purlin for a substantial distance, the clip being composed of deformable material, but strong enough to maintain theshape and the position described.

3. A roof structure and the like comprising the com bination with a sheet metal deck of a series of long sheet metal panels extending parallel to the roof edge and each formed with a downturned, inwardly facing hook of sinuous configuration along its lower margin and an upturned, inwardly facing hook of sinuous configuration along its upper margin interlocked with said first hook of an adjacent panel,.through which the adjacent panels are interlocked with one another, a series of fixed, longitudinally extending metallic purlins secured to the sheet metal sheathing and fixed at effectively panel width intervals, each purlin having a base portion which directly supports the upper margin of a panel, and an upstanding flange at its upper extremity in proximity to the upper extremity of the panel whose upper margin it supports, and stiff but permanently bendable sheet metal clips tying the upper margin of each panel to the purlin upon which it is supported while leaving the mouth of the hook at such margin substantially unobstructed, the clip constituting the sole means of positive attachment between such purlin and the supported panel margin, each clip being partially sandwiched between the interlocked hooks of the panels and extending from within the hook disposed at the upper margin of the supported panel, around the upper extremity of the panel defined by the upper side of such hook, thence down around the outer face of the flange of the supporting purlin and finally underneath said purlin for a substantial distance, the clip, though deformable, being strong enough to maintain the shape and the position described.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1934 Ansel 52--550 7/1937 Thomas 52-520 References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,820,535 1/1958 Hutchison. 3,110,130 11/1963 Trachtenberg.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. 

1. A ROOF STRUCTURE AND THE LIKE COMPRISING THE COMBINATION WITH A ROOF SUPPORTING STRUCTURE OF A SERIES OF SHEET METAL PANELS ADAPTED TO EXTEND PARALLEL TO THE ROOF EDGE AND EACH FORMED WITH A DOWNTURNED, INWARDLY FACING HOOK OF SINUOUS CONFIGURATION ALONG ITS LOWER MARGIN AND AN UPTURNED, INWARDLY FACING HOOK OF SINUOUS CONFIGURATION ALONG ITS UPPER MARGIN, INTERLOCKED WITH SAID FIRST HOOK OF AN ADJACENT PANEL THROUGH WHICH HOOKS THE ADJACENT PANELS ARE INTERLOCKED WITH ONE ANOTHER, A SERIES OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING METALLIC PURLINS FIXED AT PANEL WIDTH INTERVALS TO THE SUPPORTING STRUCTURE, EACH PURLIN HAVING A BASE PORTION WHICH DIRECTLY SUPPORTS THE UPPER MARGIN OF ONE OF SAID PANELS, AND AN UPSTANDING FLANGE AT ITS UPPER EXTREMITY IN PROXIMITY TO THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF THE PANEL WHOSE UPPER MARGIN ITS SUPPORTS, AND STIFF BUT PERMANENTLY DEFORMABLE SHEET METAL CLIPS TYING THE UPPER MARGIN OF EACH PANEL TO THE PURLIN UPON WHICH IT IS SUPPORTED WHILE LEAVING THE MOUTH OF THE PANEL HOOK AT SUCH MARGIN SUBSTANTIALLY UNOBSTRUCTED, THE CLIPS CONSTITUTING THE SOLE MEANS OF POSITIVE ATTACHMENT BETWEEN THE PURLIN AND THE PANEL MARGIN, EACH CLIP BEING PARTIALLY SANDWICHED BETWEEN THE INTERLOCKED HOOKS OF THE PANELS AND EXTENDING FROM WITHIN THE HOOK DISPOSED AT THE UPPER MARGIN OF THE SUPPORTED PANEL, AROUND THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF THE PANEL DEFINED BY THE UPPER SIDE OF SUCH HOOK, THENCE DOWN AROUND THE OUTER FACE OF THE FLANGE OF THE SUPPORTING PURLIN AND FINALLY UNDERNEATH SAID PURLIN FOR A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE, THE CLIP, THROUGH DEFORMABLE, BEING STRONG ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN THE SHAPE AND THE POSITION DESCRIBED. 